We Need You
by AlexisOptimus
Summary: In the future, a young women has to help Optimus to literally stop hiding.  Only Primus knows what will happen along the way.
1. Saviour

So many years had passed since the Autobots had become known. The humans had changed. Grown. Adapted. They grew to the point where they reached about Jazz's height. They adopted Cybertronian technology, becoming more like cyborgs. Some had an optic, some had metal limbs. Many, if not all, had a spark of their own from Autobots falling in love with a human and having children. Due to this, they could live anywhere from 100,000 to 120,000 years, though many only would live to 90,000 or so. Humans had left Earth, and moved to Cybertron once it was built again. Each of the Autobots that had first gone to Earth had yet to marry or bond to a femme, human or Autobot. Only one was missing. Optimus Prime.

Not long after the humans had gone to Cybertron, Optimus Prime had made it so the Decepticons could either stay and become Autobots, or leave and remain Decepticons, never to return. Optimus went missing around the time the last shuttle blasted off. Some said that Optimus left Cybertron with the Decepticons. Others say the Decepticons killed him then took off. No one knew for sure. Any attempts to find him had ceased. The case closed. No one found his body or any other clue, so they stopped looking for him. Or, almost everyone. One girl had yet to stop.

This girl, by the name of Taylor, was extremely interested in finding out what really happened. She had auburn hair, cut short under the ear. She had one optic and one eye, though she liked to call them both just plain eyes. Her optic was blue, and her eye was hazel. She was tall, meaning she reached about the top of Optimus' grill, at least from what she read. Her skin was rather pale. Her left arm was metal, as was her right leg. She did have a spark. Her face was thin, but had a kinder look to it. Her eyes and mouth fit with the rest of her face. She wasn't the prettiest of girls, but she certainly wasn't ugly. She was quite thin. She often spared with a friend, just to let him have fun. She was starting to get into being active, but it still hadn't given her much more strength.

A new leader ruled over Cybertron. He wasn't in any way a good leader. He barely knew how to lead. Due to this, it had become a habit for when someone was in trouble, to call out Optimus. There wasn't a real reason to it.

* * *

><p>Taylor hurried down the street. She had somewhere to be, and was running late. She tripped, falling with her arms spread out. She groaned as she stood, only to be pushed into a wall. She yelped. "Look at the girlie," a guy hissed. She let out a forced breath as he pushed on her chest. She winced as he pushed harder.<p>

"Optimus," she weezed. She was shocked, he was as well, when a blue servo was suddenly holding him up off the ground.

"Leave her alone. I'll let go of you, and you have three seconds to get out of my sight," the mech threatened. The boy then nodded before scrambling away the second his feet hit the bround.

Taylor looked over her saviour. She could clearly see bright blue optics. The mech was quite tall. He was covered in a cloak that was dark gray. The servo had been connected to either red or brown armour. He stepped away from her. "Watch yourself. Not everyone will respond to the past leader's name." With that he disappeared into the shadows. She watched after him, even though she couldn't see him any more.

"Man," she mumbled under her breath as she took off running. She stopped at one of the local stores to get her two friend's favorite types of Energon, before running to where she was supposed to be.

She took a deep breath, one of her friends would jump down her throat already for being late, so she didn't need him yelling for her not pausing to breathe too. Timidly raising her hand, she knocked and listened as someone came to the door. She smiled up at her friend. "So ya finally choose to show up? Nice to see ya Squirt. Come on in," he joked as he stepped aside for Taylor to enter.

"Nice ta see ya 'Hide. Where's Ratch?" Taylor asked as she put the cubes on the table. She visited them enough to know how they did things.

"He'll be back in a bit. You were taking too long, and he had things to do," Ironhide replied as he sat down. She nodded as she moved over to the fridge they had put in to cool Energon and to store food and drinks for her. Yes, humans could now drink Energon, it provided a lot more energy meaning they could only have low grade, but most chose to have normal human food too.

"Do you know why people gave up searching for Optimus Prime?" She knew that both Ironhide and Ratchet had been questioned, and asked for comments since they were his closest friends. Neither had given very much information on what had happened to Optimus.

"Didn't have much info leading to where he went. Did you find anything?" Ironhide asked.

"I'll tell you when Ratchet gets here," Taylor responded. The door opened then she heard voices. Ironhide spilled his Energon on the ground. He grumbled standing and leaving the room. There was speaking, before the sound of a door closing. Ratchet and Ironhide then appeared around the corner. "What was that about? I thought I heard three voices." Ratchet and Ironhide exchanged a look.

"It was just the two of us," Ratchet responded. He shoved the rag he was holding at Ironhide who grumbled but kneeled down and wiped up the Energon. "What took you so long?"

"I just got attacked. Someone stopped and helped me," Taylor replied. She wiped up the Energon on the table. Ratchet took her hand and turned her to make them face each other. He scanned her quickly before nodding. Ironhide stood and took a seat across from Ratchet. Taylor took a seat between them.

"What'd they look like?" Ironhide asked.

"Blue optics, and servos. He was wearing a cloak, so I couldn't see his armour. It was red or brown though," she answered. Ironhide played with the rag while Ratchet reached for his cube of Energon. "I think Optimus is still around on Cybertron," she stated. She jumped when Ratchet began choking on his Energon. Ironhide looked at him before reaching around her and patting the former medic on the back. Ratchet waved him away. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just caught me by suprise. What makes you think Optimus is still around?"

"What if that WAS Optimus, Ratchet? What if Optimus is just hiding in the population of Autobots? I don't think the 'Cons had anything to do with it. I think Optimus hid as the shuttle was blasting off. Think about it. It'd be the best distraction ever," Taylor replied. Ratchet nodded slowly as what she said sounded so familiar. She watched them for any other sign of agreement. What she didn't see, was blue optics watching her through the slightly open door. Or, when the door was pushed closed by a blue servo.


	2. Meeting Again

"What were you thinking?" Ratchet yelled. There was a slam of a door a moment later. The Autobot with him winced and took a step back. "You just had to let her see you! Of all the girls on Cybertron you have to jump and save her! I have no issues with the girl, but you almost got yourself caught! It would be your own slaggin' fault!"

"I understand that Ratchet! I do. But that boy was going to hurt her. How was I supposed to not be seen while saving her? He had a knife. I saw it," the Autobot said. Ironhide walked into the room and grabbed Ratchet's arm.

"Leave him alone Ratch. He did help Taylor. No reason to rip his helm off. Go. Go for a walk if you want. Ratchet, we can't lock him up here anymore than I can lock you in the weapons room and walk away with my helm in one place," Ironhide said. He nodded to the Autobot who left the room, grabbing the cloak that was hanging by the door. Ironhide turned back to face Ratchet. "If anyone finds him, I hope it'll be Taylor. I'm not sure how anyone else will react. Or how he'll react."

* * *

><p>Taylor's job was as a messenger. While comm-link worked for Autobots, the humans needed other ways to keep in contact. The humans could each be tracked on a messenger's watch. The watch was bright red in colour and had a black display instead of the actual clock. When they pressed the button just below the display, it would project a larger sceen that would show how long you had been on that certain job for as well as where the person you had to give the message to was. Some times they would actually deliver to an Autobot. That was how Taylor met Ironhide and Ratchet. Her two closest friends.<p>

She was on the job when she caught sight of a familiar cloak. The one that her saviour had been wearing. Curious, she forgot about the job and started to follow the Autobot. It wasn't hard to keep track of him. He was after all extremely tall compared to the humans who had grown. She took to running, seeing as he wasn't stopping any time soon. When she got close, she grabbed onto the cloak and suprised the mech. "Can I talk to you please?"

"You are talking to me," he replied. She took in how deep his voice was.

"I want to thank you."

"Your welcome," he responded. It was short and said in a way that made her think he didn't care. She pulled him into an alleyway.

"You saved me. And you don't care?"

"I do care. If I didn't, I would've walked away. I wouldn't of stopped him when you cried out. Do I care?" He asked. She was slightly shocked. She could only see his optics. They were slightly narrowed.

"Who are you?"

"I-I can't do this. You've thanked me, now forget about me," he said. She could hear the near panic.

"Why? What's wrong? Please, tell me who you are," she begged. He looked out at the street filled with both humans and Autobots.

"Meet me in the ruins. Just outside the city. Maybe then I'll tell you," he replied. He removed the cloak from her grip and disappeared into the crowds yet again.

"Hey, Taylor!" A voice cried out. She gave a heavy sigh before turning and facing the person who called her.

"Hey Isabella," Taylor called. A shorter girl with straight red hair ran up. Excitement filling the playful green eyes.

"I saw you with a guy! Tell me what happened. Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"Izzy, calm down. Did you spend time with Blurr or something?"

"No. Please, Taylor!" Isabella begged bouncing.

"I don't have time, Izzy. I have a message for that woman down the street from my friend's house. Wanna come?"

"I don't like that woman," Isabella mumbled. Taylor laughed before motioning for her to follow.

"I'll bring you to Ironhide and Ratchet if you're nice," Taylor offered. Isabella fell in step behind her.

"Why do you like those two so much? They're old," Isabella said. Taylor looked back at her with a laugh.

"They have so much to teach us. And they're not old. They live longer than us, so in their time, their not old."

"They're still old," Isabella complained. She went silent when they got close to the house Taylor had to delive a message at.

* * *

><p>The house looked like just about every other one in the area. The only way to tell the difference was the fact that the people living there made changes to the outside to lessen confusion. The old women's house always had flowers taped to the door. The windows were clean with green curtains on the inside to keep people passing by from seeing inside the house. The door was painted green as well.<p>

Taylor knocked on the door, and felt two hands grabbed onto her. She sighed knowing that Izzy was over reacting. The old creaked open and a "come in" was heard. Taylor walked inside followed closely by Izzy who shut the door behind her. "Mrs. Winston?"

"In here," the old woman called. She had gray hair that fell over her shoulders and stopped at the bottom of her shoulder blades. Mrs. Winston had lost her sight a long time ago. Her eyes were gray although you almost couldn't she her pupils. The only metalic part of her body was her hands. Taylor always stopped by because Mrs. Winston was one of the people who still believed Optimus Prime was among the Autobots on Cybertron. She'd lost her hands in a battle once, and that alone made Taylor curious about the life of the old women. She was 93, 478 years old. She was one of the few humans that didn't have a spark. "Young Captain Taylor. You brought Ms. Izzy along with you as well. Welcome girls."

"Mrs. Winston. I have a message for you. It's from... O.P. Whoever that is," Taylor said. Mrs. Winston seemed to brighten.

"I haven't heard from him in a while. What does he say?"

"'I'm sorry I have not been around, but R has kept me busy. I hope to stop by some time tomorrow. Set a time and I will be there. Signed, O.P.' That's all it said," Taylor replied. A soft smile was present on Mrs. Winston's face.

"Can you take a message back to where you picked it up?"

"Of course I can," Taylor replied. Izzy had gone to look around. The inside of the house was filled with plants and other organic things instead of the usual metal items you could buy from any of the stores.

"This is the message. 'Come by at 9 AM. Tell R to leave you alone. You can take care of yourself. Tell IH that I miss talking to him. Signed, MW.' Thank you my dear Taylor. Could you come by tomorrow? At 8:50 in the morning?" Mrs. Winston asked. Taylor looked up from where she was writing the message on her watch screen. She gave a smile and a nod.

"I'm sorry, but we have to get going-"

"Wait! Can I ask you to take something to Ironhide and Ratchet? They live-"

"I know where they live. That's actually where I was planning to go once I delivered your first message."

"Take this to them. Please," Mrs. Winston handed Taylor a box. It was rather heavy, but Taylor could manage. She and Izzy said their goodbyes before leaving. Mrs. Winston gave a content sigh and picked up a picture that neither of the girls had seen.

* * *

><p>Taylor had stopped by the message center and dropping off the message from Mrs. Winston before they went to Ironhide and Ratchet's. They were suprised to hear yelling coming from inside. Taylor was suprised. She'd never heard them fight before. Not like this. There was thudding before the door swung open. Both girls backed away in suprise with wide eyes. Ratchet stared at them for a moment with a scowl before the look softened. "Taylor. Isabella. What are you two doing here?"<p>

"W-we have a package for you," Taylor replied as Izzy ducked behind her. Ratchet scowled again briefly before motioning for them to enter. Both were reluctant to do so, considering the fact Ratchet's voice was the one that was raised in the first place, but Taylor swallowed her fear and entered with Izzy tightly holding onto Taylor's arm.

"Ironhide!" Ratchet called. There were several more thudding sounds followed by a crash of metal and Ironhide appeared around the corner. "We've got a delivery."

"Taylor, Izzy," Ironhide greeted. He sat down and looked at them, his optics avoiding Ratchet's. Taylor held out the box and Ironhide reached for it, only to stop when Ratchet snatched it. He looked inside before walking away.

"What's going on with you two?" Izzy asked once she couldn't see Ratchet.

"He's just in a bad mood. Ignore him. He'll calm down in a bit," Ironhide replied.


	3. Learning More

Taylor had stayed and talked with Ironhide for a while. Ratchet had taken them both home, and apologized for being in such a horrible mood while they were there. Izzy, being only 11, 521 years old, had accepted rather quickly. Taylor, at 19, 999 but had known them for so long, had also forgiven him. She did joke that he should watch his temper.

* * *

><p>The following morning, she told the top messenger that she would have to take the day off. When he agreed, she ran off to meet with Mrs. Winston.<p>

Mrs. Winston was sitting at the table when Taylor knocked. She smiled as Taylor walked in. "My dear, you must stay quiet. You'll startle him if you make noise," she said to Taylor. The younger girl gave a nod. About ten minutes later, there was another knock. "Come in! I'm in the kitchen." Taylor heard heavy metal footsteps make their way towards them. Her eyes went wide when she saw who had joined them. Just like his bright optics widened. "Taylor, meet Optimus Prime. Or, O.P. as he signed the message with."

"I was right!" Taylor cried out making Optimus wince. "You are still on Cybertron! And alive!" Optimus seemed to glare at Mrs. Winston before moving around the delighted Taylor to sit beside Mrs. Winston.

"I am," he replied. He watched as she moved closer with her eyes still wide.

"I know you. I mean, I already know you," she mumbled. He nodded. "You're the one that saved me from that man!"

"Yes. I am. You caught my attention by saying my name. Do you know the reason people call my name when they're in trouble?"

"No."

"It's because when someone calls my name I respond. When I find that a person is in trouble and they call my name, I jump to help," Optimus said. His voice sounded defeated. Something was wrong.

"Optimus Prime, sir. Why did you go into hiding in the first place?" Taylor asked. Once again Optimus winced, but stood to his full height and towered over her.

"You want to know why I went into hiding? Because I'm tired of leading. Of the duties I have to fufill. Of being called sir. I figured that the amount of time I've done it would be enough. I want to be able to avoid the spotlight. To be normal. But unless I completely change my frame, I can't. I rid Cybertron of the Decepticons for a long time. I'm a hero. And I hate it. I've always known that one day the pressure would get to me. Which is why I went into hiding in the first place. I've done what I promised. Autobots and humans alike are safe. I grew frustrated with being in the spotlight for so long. Never able to get time away from it all. With help, I came up with the perfect way to stop being the hero. To stop existing. I hid away while all the attention was on the ship. This is my secret. Now it's yours. I know who you are Taylor Daniels. I've watched you. I do care about you. There's your answer. Mary, I have to go. I hope to see you again soon," Optimus said. He moved around Taylor, only to stop when he felt a metal hand grab the metal of his wrist. He stopped and turned.

"Optimus, please don't go. I asked you both here. Young Captain Taylor has been trying to find out about you for years. I thought you might like having some one to talk to," Mrs. Winston begged. Looking at her, Optimus couldn't say no or stay angry at her. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Alright," Optimus responded. He cast a glance to Taylor. "Let's go somewhere else. I'm sorry, but there isn't much room here." He was right. The houses were built for the humans. Even though they were much bigger, Optimus was one of the tallest Autobots on Cybertron. They left the house. Mrs. Winston had a wheelchair that she used since walking wasn't easy for her anymore. Taylor noticed that Optimus had taken the cloak off at the door and put it back on before he left the room.

"How do you know each other?" Taylor asked. Optimus looked to Mrs. Winston for a sign of who would talk.

"We fought together. Why don't you tell her?" Mrs. Winston asked. Optimus sighed.

"After Megatron's death, there were still more than enough Decepticons to keep us fighting. We fought for years. It got to the point where more humans had to volunteer to help. Mary Winston was one of them. She joined and proved her skills quickly. After several battles, she earned the right to chose what battles she wanted to fight. During the last one, I'd gotten caught under one of the crashed Decepticon ships. Mary had been the only one to see or notice that fact. In her attempt to help me get free, she was seen by a Decepticon that welded any openings in the ship closed so she wouldn't be able to get out. Rather than letting that bother her, she went to my rescue and fixed some of the Energon tubes that were cut inside of me closed. The Energon ate away the skin of her hands, forcing the medics that found us later the replace them with cybertronian metal. I owe her my life, Ms. Daniels," Optimus replied. His bright blue optics bore into her very soul it seemed. For a while it was silent. Though, the amount of people walking around might have had something to do with it. Optimus had his helm hung low to avoid anyone recognizing him.

* * *

><p>They stopped inside a little store. The shop keeper seemed familiar to Taylor, though she had no idea who he was. "Heya Mary! How are ya?" The cheery yellow mech asked. Mrs. Winston brightened at his words.<p>

"Little Bumblebee! How I've missed you," she replied. Taylor glanced to Optimus who had dropped back and was watching the scene with dimmed optics.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked him as she walked over to him. He glanced at her before his optics fell to the floor.

"You know enough about me, so I guess talking to you about it wouldn't hurt anything. The shopkeeper is named Bumblebee. He was one of the Autobots I had with me when we first crashed on Earth. He knows that I'm still alive, but I haven't seen him in quite a while. Ignore me. It's... hard to explain," Optimus replied. He took a seat in one of the booths Bumblebee had set up so his customers could have a quick bite to eat or some Energon. That was when Bumblebee caught sight of Optimus.

"I never expected you to come around! I thought you forgot about me," Bumblebee greeted. Optimus didn't look up.

"I don't think I could ever forget about the Autobots that I worked with," Optimus responded. Bumblebee sat down beside him, and the girls decided to either watch or listen.

"Prime, I never thought you'd let something get you down. Primus, you can handle Ironhide and Ratchet's bickerin', so why let this get you? What's changed?"

"A lot, Bumblebee. A lot. Nothing I do seems right any more," Optimus replied. Bumblebee gave his past leader a side hug. He then grabbed Optimus jaw and forced the larger to look at him.

"Don't talk like that. You have been the best leader on Cybertron for as long as I can remember," Bumblebee said. Optimus' optics closed in an attempt to avoid looking at Bumblebee who sighed. "You really need help Prime."

"Mrs. Winston, can I can by again sometime soon? I have to go, but I want to talk to you and Optimus again," Taylor asked Mrs. Winston quietly. The old woman laughed.

"Of course! I'll talk to you later my dear."

"Thank you!" Taylor said as she left the room. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to Ironhide and Ratchet's house.

* * *

><p>She knocked on the door. Like normal, she felt dwarfed and tiny when compared to it. There was clanging, different from footsteps before the door was opened. Ironhide smiled at her and motioned for her to enter. "Hey there squirt. What're doing here?"<p>

"I want to talk to you and Ratchet," Taylor replied. Ironhide nodded and called for Ratchet who came out of his own room a moment after.

"What about?" Ironhide asked.

"Optimus Prime. Now I know for a fact that he is still here on Cybertron. I saw him. Actually talked to him," she said. Ironhide nodded while Ratchet sighed. "You guys knew. Didn't you?"

"You're right," Ratchet replied. A hurt look came across Taylor's face.

"You didn't tell me."

"It wasn't ours to tell. If you met him, you can only talk about it with those who know already. If Optimus Prime wants to stay hidden, then we can't stop him. If you want things to change, you have to get Optimus to change his mind. Reveal him, and you'll only get him angry," Ratchet warned. Taylor nodded. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I took the day off. I'm actually suprised that you're home," Taylor answered. Ratchet sighed.

"Our 'leader' made it so I can't work. I'm starting to think that mech hates Autobots. I'm not the first one that was forced to stop working. A human male has my job now. Another has Ironhide's job. That's why we're home," Ratchet informed. The growl in his voice was impossible to miss. She hadn't known about that information. It wasn't fair to force healthy mechs out of jobs. She wanted more information.

"Did they tell you why? They had to have a reason."

"They said we are too old. That's not true," Ironhide replied. Both seemed upset.

"That's not right. They shouldn't be allowed to do that," she said. Her mind was made up. She was going to find out what had gone wrong. Wrong enough that it had Optimus Prime in hiding, Mrs. Winston and Bumblebee keeping secrets, and Ironhide and Ratchet so shaken.

* * *

><p>The mech Ratchet is talking about is NOT Optimus. They refer to him by name, not as their leader. Please review!<p> 


End file.
